Page 123 of The Cellist

He glanced at the file folder in Gabriel’s hand. “What is this all about?”

“Your inauguration, sir. I believe you should consider moving it inside, with very few guests.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t,” said Gabriel, “you might have the shortest presidency in American history.”

62

Wilmington, Delaware

Gabriel began his briefing not with the document he had brought from Tel Aviv but with the operation that had produced it—the operation against Arkady Akimov and the private intelligence unit hidden within his Geneva-based company. The president-elect’s knowledge of the unfolding scandal involving NevaNeft and the Russian leader’s personal finances was limited to what his staff had culled from the media. His daily intelligence briefings, which he had only belatedly begun to receive, had contained no mention of the story.

“Did Langley know about your operation?” he asked.

“Not until late in the game.”

“Why not?”

“Because the current administration showed little interest in operating against the Russians.”

“How diplomatic of you, Director Allon. Try again.”

“I didn’t brief the Agency because I was afraid the president would tell his friend in the Kremlin. Unfortunately, I learned early on that he was not to be trusted with sensitive information. My counterpart at MI6 was also extremely careful about the intelligence he let him see. For that matter, so was the director of the CIA.”

“Are you suggesting he’s a Russian asset?”

“That’s a question for your intelligence chiefs.”

“I’m not asking them. I’m asking you.”

“Assets come in all shapes and sizes. And some assets don’t realize they’re assets. Oftentimes, they’re the best kind.”

They were seated at Covid-safe intervals around a wrought-iron table on the patio. Only Gabriel, the briefer, was maskless. A glance at his wristwatch established he had used four of his allotted ten minutes. He opened the file folder and removed the translation of the document found on Felix Belov’s computer.

“The Haydn Group’s main weapon was dirty Russian money, which it used it to fund anti-establishment parties and to corrupt prominent Western businessmen and politicians. But the Haydn Group also possessed a sophisticated information warfare unit similar to the Internet Research Agency.”

“The St. Petersburg company that meddled in the 2016 election.”

“Exactly. Our analysis of the Haydn Group’s computers revealed that early last summer, their fake Twitter accounts began to amplify the president’s false claims the election was going to be stolen from him. But more ominously, the Haydn Groupalso began planning for the future.” Gabriel held up the document. “A future in which their preferred candidate lost the election and you were about to enter the White House.”

“What do you have there, Director Allon?”

“A memorandum written by a top operative of the Haydn Group named Felix Belov. It details a plot to deliver a catastrophic blow to American democracy by covertly encouraging an attack on your inauguration. The beauty of the plot, at least from Russia’s point of view, is that it will be carried out by an American citizen.”

“Who?”

“An asset known as Rebel. Evidently, one of the Haydn Group’s cyberwarriors encountered Rebel on an 8kun message board. Rebel is a far-right extremist who supports the imposition of white nationalist, authoritarian rule in the United States, by violence if necessary. Rebel is also an official of the US government who will have access to the inauguration ceremony.”

“How?”

“Needless to say, the document doesn’t say where Rebel works. The Haydn Group communicated with him anonymously. Rebel has no idea that the texts and direct messages he’s been receiving were sent by a private Russian intelligence company.”

“Are you sure Rebel is a man?”

“I was using the male pronoun for the sake of brevity. The document doesn’t specify Rebel’s gender.”

“May I see it?” asked Jordan Saunders.